A taste of real Italy

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NIEU-BETHESDA BUSINESS NEWS - Xanthya Hanekom is a colourful character. She walks around her new restaurant with purpose and speed and serves her guests with a matter-of-fact efficiency.

Relatively new to the village, Xanthya bought the restaurant 'The Karoo Lamb' from Ian Alleman and Katrin Kundig last year.

This self-taught chef who has been involved in the restaurant business since the age of 13, made the decision to remove herself and her son from the high crime and chaos of Gauteng where she co-owned an Italian Gelataria and to move to Nieu-Bethesda to engage in 'a life less ordinary'.

Xanthya is no stranger to hard work and put herself through a journalism degree at university through waitressing and learning the skills of the trade. She speaks passionately about having had the opportunity to work in Italy where she gleaned the techniques of Italian cooking.

The Nieu-Karoo Country restaurant is a clean-lined, unfussy space dominated by a wood-fired pizza oven. Textures of wood, brick and glass make for a beautiful, spacious eating experience and the stoep outside allows diners to watch the goings on in the dusty streets overlooking the Owl House.

The menu is, obviously, Italian - with breakfast, lunch and dinner served every day except Monday and Sunday dinner. Sophie Jacobs, Lowrie Swartz and Maria Swiers, themselves no strangers to a good pizza, make up the efficient team behind each meal.

The shady stoep on a summer's day.

The restaurant is fully licensed with a good selection of wine and beer which arrives in an elegant, chilled glass - a perfect foil for the Karoo heat. The thin crust pizzas are magnificent, while the spicy lamb, a favourite, consists of finely pulled roast lamb served with dollops of coriander and chili-infused yoghurt, the Quattro Stagioni oozed with ham, olives, artichokes and mushrooms, with a careful balance of mozzarella.

The Nieu-Karoo team: Xanthya Hanekom, Sophie Jacobs, Maria Swiers and Lowrie Swartz.

All pasta served is homemade - the deep fried ravioli was divine, and the mushroom or pumpkin filled tortellini served with a sage butter sauce subtly satisfying as only a home-made pasta can be.

There are also steak and Karoo lamb chops on the menu. The crème brulee for dessert is creamy with a perfect crackle - and one of the many interesting desserts to choose from.

With very competitive prices (pizzas and pasta all fall below the R100 mark), the Nieu-Karoo Country restaurant is well worth the drive from Graaff-Reinet.

A creamy pasta dish.